There’s a lot of irresponsibility and malice in what you see: Vishal Sikka

Too big a deal has been made out of Rajiv Bansal’s severance, David’s ( Kennedy) severance, my compensation and Punita’s ( Kumar-Sinha) appointment. I am thankful to the investors. They are very supportive of what we are doing.TV Mahalingam&Megha Mandavia | ET Bureau | February 14, 2017, 17:06 IST

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka denied that any red flags were raised during the Panaya acquisition and admitted he is hurt by the irresponsible and malicious leaks to the media. In an interview To ET, Sikka also said too much is being made out of Rajiv Bansal's severance.

Do you see Murthy’s comments in the media as an attack on you?He built the company. People go talk to him. He feels passionately about it. All the founders, especially Murthy, have a very special place. It is also our fiduciary duty to make sure that we listen to the voices of all shareholders. I don’t see it as a conflict. It is not good that it is out in public this way.

My view is that too big a deal has been made out of Rajiv Bansal’s severance, David’s ( Kennedy) severance, my compensation and Punita’s ( Kumar-Sinha) appointment. I am thankful to the investors. They are very supportive of what we are doing.

Did Rajiv Bansal raise any red flags on Panaya acquisition?There is nothing there. He was the CFO at the time we went through the entire process. It was the first time we were doing it so we were extra careful. I have no memory of that whatsoever. It is a software company based out of Israel building automation software for automating the upgrade process of packaged applications.

It is a picture perfect example of what can improve productivity of our backend workers. You can imagine the issue rejection. It does not make these nonsensical stories true.

I think the number of people talking about it is not a reflection of something being there. And this issue of SAP, it is just 5-6% — a minor investment. To bring the chairman of SAP into this is absolute nonsense.

How was the board of SAP different from Infosys board?German boards are very different than Indian boards. The executive board is a separate entity. It is a clear separation.

Are you hurt by the whole issue?There is a lot of irresponsibility and maliciousness in what you see ... The people who are feeding the wrong stories to the media. To be clear, I am not talking about the founders. A lot of these people are bystanders, Monday morning quarterbacks. You don’t appreciate that.

It is a price you pay for being at Infosys. I try to not let it get to me. Life is too short.

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